Constitution + SC

Question 1

what are civil rights?

Answer 1

basic rights that protect individuals’ freedom from infringement

Question 2

where is the power of the SC established?

Answer 2

article III of constitution

Question 3

what were the FF unsure to give SC?

Answer 3

judicial review

Question 4

what allowed SC to get JR?

Answer 4

vagueness of constitution

Question 5

what case gave the SC judicial review?

Answer 5

Marbury v Madison (1803)

Question 6

what does the bill of rights give the SC?

Answer 6

a set of rights to protect as guardians of the constitution

Question 7

give an example of a case of the SC protecting rights via JR?

Answer 7

DC v Heller (2008)

Question 8

what was the case of DC v Heller?

Answer 8

• 2nd amendment case that overturned ban on handguns in home in DC
• law from 1979 which said gun in cabinet, ammo in separate cabinet
• ruled it was unconstitutional as it infringed on 2nd amendment rights

Question 9

how did DC v Heller show the SC protecting rights?

Answer 9

• ensured citizens had right to bear arms

- power from constitution allowed them to do so

Question 10

what power does SC not have?

Answer 10

to bring about its own cases

Question 11

what does SC have to rely upon in order to protecting rights?

Answer 11

have to rely upon individuals filing litigation against laws or actions

Question 12

how many cases do SC hear a year?

Answer 12

80

Question 13

how many requests to SC get a year?

Answer 13

7000

Question 14

how did DC v Heller show limited power of SC?

Answer 14

law was from 1979 - 30 years of infringed rights

Question 15

what does the difficult amendment process mean?

Answer 15

rights are well protected

Question 16

what is the requirements for the amendment process?

Answer 16

• 2/3 both houses of Congress

- 3/4 state legislatures

Question 17

why is it difficult to change constitution?

Answer 17

wide political spectrum in US

Question 18

why does the difficult amendment process mean SC can protect rights?

Answer 18

instead of amending constitution take cases to SC to rule upon rights

Question 19

when was citizens untied v FEC?

Answer 19

2010

Question 20

what happened in citizens united v FEC?

Answer 20

• against bipartisan campaign reform act (2002)
• limited donations to candidates directly
• ruled unconstitutional as limited free speech

Question 21

why does citizens united v FEC show constitution to allow SC to protect rights?

Answer 21

• without process law would have been put into constitution

- by law meant it could be appealed to SC so they could protect the right

Question 22

how does the hard amendment process not protect rights?

Answer 22

certain new rights cannot be protected by the SC

Question 23

give an example of a new right that is not in the constitution?

Answer 23

gay rights - widely accepted in society

Question 24

why would gay rights not enter constitution?

Answer 24

still conservative republicans who are against and traditional states like Texas

Question 25

how has the SC overcome this problem of new rights?

Answer 25

due to vagueness of constitution SC can make interpretive amendments

Question 26

give an example of the SC recognising new rights?

Answer 26

• Obergefell v Hodges 2015
• gave right for same sex marriage
• ruled that fundamental right for same sex couples to marry is guaranteed by due process clause and equal protection clause of 14th amendment

Question 27

why are interpretive amendments respected?

Answer 27

• due to the court principle of stare decisis

- courts to respect precedent of previous courts